The Light Breaks
by eleni459
Summary: Karen receives a visitor after a long night on watch.


Originally written for 31_days on lj. The theme was: August 1 - healed by wind and sun

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She had felt a presence the moment he entered the building. Friend? Foe? It didn't seem to matter in the waning hours of the dark. She could barely keep alert as it was. Though she willed her eyes to stay open, they wished it upon themselves to close. It had been a long night sitting watch atop the building. And the chill had been more than she had expected.

So she didn't budge as she heard her visitor approach. The slight sound of something being put to the side confused her. It was only when she felt a heavy fabric begin to drift down her back that her eyes shot open. But even that sudden startle gave way to instant relief the moment she saw who it was. "It's you," she said.

Seiichirou smiled. "You don't mind my company do you?"

"Not at all." Her shoulders grew slack as his coat finished its descent. Her hands gripped the lapels and pulled it tighter to her body. Instinctively, she breathed deep and sighed. So this was what he smelled like: fresh soap and bright aftershave. She felt guilty almost instantly. The guilt quickly compounded upon itself when she realized exactly what the hour must be. "But what about...?" she began to ask.

"I also have work to finish up this morning. I didn't think it would hurt to check on you before I got to it. If you must, you could say that I'm just doing my part for the team."

"But that still doesn't...?"

"It's no problem. My hours aren't that erratic, but I sometimes have to leave early. They'll miss me. I miss them too and I'll make it up to them tonight."

She had heard such things from other men. This would strike such a false note from anyone else. But he emanated such an aura of honesty. It was sometimes more than Karen could stand. "Well, it was kind of you to think of me."

"No problem." He held up a finger before turning and retrieving the parcels he had placed to the side. "I brought coffee," he said as he handed her a can. "I'm sorry. It's not particularly warm."

"Warm or not, I can take all the coffee I can get." She popped the top and took a deep swig. He was right. The liquid sat somewhere between cold and lukewarm. But it offered just the jolt she needed to keep her eyes open.

Another jolt shot through her when she felt him plop down beside her. She watched as he opened his can and took a drink. "Did you sense any sort of disturbance last night?" he asked.

"No, it was quiet."

"That's good. Well," he said, suddenly sheepish, "it's not good that you sat out here all night waiting. It's just..."

"I understand," she said with a laugh. "It's a shame but it would have been a worse shame to leave my post unguarded when we had word of a potential attack."

Seiichirou nodded and returned his attention to his coffee. It was all too easy for her to sit and study the graceful movements of his hands or the way his eyelashes lightly grazed his cheeks. And so she turned away and watched as the sun began to slip up above the highrises. The faint orange glow was slowly flickering out and forcing the darkness to retreat for another day. Karen had witnessed many a sunrise, but this one, for the moment, seemed special.

"Do you think we'll succeed?"

"We have to," he said. "It's not a pleasant world out there, but there is always hope in a brand new day. The morning comes and we get to try to be better people. We fight for that chance."

Karen nodded and returned to her drink. She let one of her hands drift away from the can and lie lazily on the ground. She was surprised when she felt him take that hand into her. She turned and looked into his eyes. "We're going to make it through," he said. "And we'll know life for the blessing that it is."

"Yes." What more could she say? She glanced back out at the sky and smiled. Perhaps he was right. It was better to believe that than any of the alternatives. She glanced back at him and asked, "Don't you need to get to work?"

He scowled and almost appeared disappointed. "Will you be fine?"

"Indeed. I have the sun to keep me company." She took her hand from his and stood up. With a careful hand, she unwrapped his jacket from her shoulders and held it out to him. "But thank you for offering up some of your precious time."

"Once again, it's no problem." Seiichirou stood and took his coat. He folded it over his arm before again taking her hand. "Take care. You can't push yourself like this."

"Perhaps," she said with a sigh. "But I'm pretty sure I can manage."

For a moment, it looked to Karen as if he wanted to push the point harder. But he shook his head and let go her hand before bending down to retrieve his can. He offered her a wave and said, "I need to go. Again, take care and have a great day."

"You too." She waved as she watched him walk off. When he was safely out of sight, she put her hand to her lips and kissed it gently. She thought she could still feel just a bit of his heat left along her fingers.

Her hand slipped to her side as she turned to face the sun. "A new day might signal second chances, but you make it … oh you." Still, it was hard for her to shake his point as she watched the remnants of the dark fade away. There were renewed chances for order over chaos. She knew what side she had chosen. As she finished her coffee, she could only hope that the rest of the world still believed in second chances as well.


End file.
